A semi-customized ear tip piece for insertion in an ear canal is disclosed that has a first end and a second end, wherein the first end includes a solid portion and the second end includes a reversibly compressible portion. A first channel is disclosed that passes through the solid portion for transmitting sound to the ear. In a preferred embodiment, the ear tip piece also has a bend. In an alternative embodiment, the solid portion comprises a base and a projection. The disclosed ear tip piece is preferably used in conjunction with various hearing instruments, such as Behind-the-ear (“BTE”), Over-the-ear (“OTE”), Receiver-in-canal (“RIC”), or Receiver and Microphone in canal hearing aids.
BTE or OTE hearing aids typically use an ear tip piece to locate and direct the amplified sound into the wearer's ear canal. RIC hearing aids use an ear tip piece as a holder to position the receiver or transducer in the ear canal. The majority of the ear tips currently on the market are of a symmetrical circular or oval shape with a round or dome shaped tip. It is important for acoustic reasons and for wearer comfort, to have the tip fit well.
Such known ear tip pieces are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,889,883 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,602,933, both issued to Cartwright et al. The ear tip pieces disclosed in the '883 and '933 patents have a generally cone-shaped appearance (or otherwise referred to as a “bullet-shape”) and at the conical end, a central longitudinal passage is provided which can further be associated with various tube-like structures. The '883 and '933 patent ear tip pieces are comprised of material that is preferably a highly flexible and/or pliable material that can be compressed in a fashion so that distinct folds are formed in the material, creating what appears to be a “star-like” configuration when fully compressed along each fold line. The fold lines themselves can be depressions in the flexible material itself, physically scored into the material, or otherwise provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,027,608 issued to Fretz et al. discloses several embodiments of eartips. The '608 patent discloses a bud-shaped eartip that is a conically shaped member having a through bore for sound transmission and an interior socket configured to allow the bud-shaped eartip to be received on the honey dipper end of a tube. A flower-shaped eartip is disclosed that includes a central core and three flower petals extending from the central core. Each of the petals has a substantially ellipsoidal shaped end. The '608 patent discloses a variation of the flower eartip, the webbed flower eartip, in which the flower petals are connected by a thin web of eartip material. The webbed flower eartip will reduce the ambient sounds passage through the ear canal increasing occlusion. Another eartip disclosed in the '608 patent is the guppie-shaped eartip which includes a central body portion and a tail. The '608 patent also discloses a barb-shaped eartip including a central body portion and a barb extending from the central body portion. Another variation of an eartip disclosed in the '608 patent is a dome-shaped eartip having a bud-shaped core and a skirt starting about half way down the bud-shape and extending from the core. Yet another eartip variation disclosed in the '608 patent is a bud-shaped eartip having a wax flap.
In another alternative embodiment, the ear tip piece has a sound attenuator inserted into the first channel to attenuate sound being transmitted to an ear. In a preferred embodiment, a coupler is inserted into the first channel and retains the sound attenuator. The disclosed ear tip piece is preferably used as an earplug to attenuate the loudness or decibel level of damaging frequencies of sound.
A human ear naturally resonates or amplifies the loudness of certain frequencies of sound to provide better hearing. The human ear's most sensitive region for hearing ranges from approximately 1000 Hertz (“Hz”) to 4000 Hz, which encompasses the range of typical frequencies for spoken word. The ear naturally resonates this range of frequencies and provides peak resonances at approximately 2700 Hz and 4000 Hz. For instance, the natural resonance at 2700 Hz is about 18 decibels (“dB”) of amplification and the natural resonance at 4000 Hz is about 9 dB for conversational levels. The ear does not generally resonate frequencies below 1000 Hz and provides very little resonance below 500 Hz.
Since frequencies between 1000 Hz and 4000 Hz have the highest natural resonance, they are also the most sensitive to increases in loudness and, as a result, are the most at risk for hearing loss. The reason these frequencies are most at risk for hearing loss is because loudness or sound pressure level discomfort is achieved at high levels for this range before lower or higher frequencies are affected.
A study by National Acoustic Laboratories, Australia in 1999 found that placing a typical earplug in a wearer's ear creates an “insertion effect”. This “insertion effect” causes the wearer to desire an additional 7 dB of amplification or gain in low frequencies to maintain the same perception of those low frequencies as for 1000 Hz frequencies. As a result, a uniform attenuation of all frequencies, such as that generally provided by foam or custom earplugs, may detrimentally alter the quality of sound heard by a wearer.